What a difference $500,000 makes

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So what has been the impact of all the monies raised from Atlassian’s cause marketingStarter License program? Where has all that money gone? One of the things that we love about Room to Read is their transparency and accountability. As a partner we can see exactly how we are contributing to a solution.

Cambodia

1 local language reading book in Khmer

16 Reading Rooms, including the Constructed Library at Mepring Primary School

68 Scholarships for girls (year long)

‘Where is the Sun?’ — the local Khmer language reading book that was published by Room to Read. (Room to Read is now the largest publisher of local language books in Cambodia. The organisation works with local artists and writers to create these stories, rather than just printing translations of English books.)

16 Reading Rooms
Some of the 16 Reading Rooms that are being built by Room to Read are still under construction, however in December 2009 the Constructed Library at Mepring Primary School was opened in northern Kampong Cham Province.
Like many schools in Cambodia, Mepring Primary School does not have enough space and furniture to operate a library for their students, and they definitely could not have built a library on their own. Room to Read with the help of the local community has constructed a freestanding Reading Room that serves more than 700 students and gives them access to reading materials outside of their regular classes. Room to Read tells us that because there are so many students eager to use their new library, the librarians have had to establish a schedule for each grade!
Some of the funds were used to be build a library at the Mepring Primary School which Atlassian dedicated to the memory of Jeffrey Walker:

This library was constructed through the cooperation of the local community, Room to Read, and Australian software company Atlassian. The library is dedicated to the memory of Jeffrey Walker, who demonstrated to all of us the power of optimism. – Mepring Primary School (Batheay, Kampong Cham), December, 2009

68 Scholarships for Girls
The funds raised from the starter campaign have also been used to fund the annual school fees for 68 Cambodian girls. For their Girls’ Education Program Room to Read provides material support such as school fees, textbooks, uniforms, school supplies and transportation to girls. As well as a range of supplementary activities such as tutoring, life skills training, mentoring and medical check-ups that contribute to the girls’ educational success. Girls’ Education has been directly linked to outcomes such as lower infant mortality rates, Increased eventual wages and increased likelihood of educating the next generation.

Vietnam

Our previous contribution for Vietnam was distributed to areas of greatest need, and was allocated towards these projects:

Sri Lanka

Our latest batch of funds will be allocated to Sri Lanka, towards the following projects:

2 schools in Mannar

2 preschools – 1 in Matale and 1 in Monaragala

1 Local Language Publication

32 Girls Scholarships

We’ll have more detailed updates on Sri Lanka soon.

Help us make an even bigger impact

Help us spread the word and contribute towards our next milestone of $1,000,000 to support this amazing charity that is touching so many young lives whilst putting great software into the hands of innovative individuals, small teams and startups. You can help spread the word via your favourite social media tool: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. Take advantage of our pre-configured Twitter and Facebook buttons below: